#1 From ASR: Safri (Mogami(FR) x Imposing(Aus x Kentucky Gold))
Trainer is
hofface 26/1
Safri has been competitive in allowance races, but the single
stakes attempt
was not encouraging. She has been running better and better the
more ground
she has been getting, and maybe a mile is not quite enough.
#2 From EWC: Debbie Duz Dishes (Jolie's Halo x Fly so free x
Prince
Pretense) Trainer is coomer3 36/1
Debbie Duz Dishes comes straight from winning her MSW in
Nebraska, over 6,5
furlongs. Even though the speed figure in that race, and the
improvement
from the first race to the second both are good, Triple D
shouldn't be able
to compete in this race over a distance she has never tried, and
against
stakes winners. It would be a major upset.
#3 From Queensland: Echo and Bounce (Akaaber x Lion Cavern x
Spicy Story)
Trainer is railrider 71/1
Echo and Bounce made her strongest performance so far in the
Queensland
Juvenile allowance, a SP 77 which landed her a 4th place. There
is no reason
to think Echo and Bounce will be around when this race is
decided.
#4 From Minnesota: Ms Slew (Seattle Slew x Mr. Prospector x Le
Fabuleux)
Trainer is polandfarm 7/1
Ms Slew has a royal pedigree, and runs to it. Undefeated in her
two starts,
Ms Slew will stay off the pace, but watch the blistering speed
once the race
is on the line. Only question mark: Never been in a stakes race.
Just two
starts is not much to judge the quality of a horse from. Ms Slew
is my dark
horse in this race.
#5 From SERA: Taliban Hunter (A.P.Indy x Mt. Livermore x Crafty
Prospector)
Trainer is barn25dog 37/1
A late entry, Taliban Hunter failed to break her maiden in her
first start,
her only race so far. The pedigree is again a lovely one, but
that will not
be enough. The Private Account mile will be an experience, but
she won't
earn any money from it. With more experience, this might be a
good horse
though - maybe we'll see Taliban Hunter in next year's Equinics?
#6 From Nebraska: Priestess of Helm (Seattle Slew x Nureyev x
Vaguely Noble)
Trainer is woodsmen 27/1
This race is full of royally bred fillies, and this is no
exception.
Priestess of Helm (with experienced jockey N.Lawton in the
saddle, not
Elminster which she might have needed in this race - a bit of
magic...) has
not won since she broke her maiden over just this distance in
week 1159 in
Spain. Has so far not shown the kind of speed needed to win
here.
#7 From Viking Racing: Exbourne's Loveyou (Pine Bluff x Crafty
Prospector x
Secretariat) Trainer is vikingfarm 12/1
Viking Racing's champion owned by vikingfarm has proven to be
very
reliable - in the money in 8 out of 9 starts. However, only two
wins so far.
She hasn't seen this tough competition ever before though, and
will probably
see herself passed by a few competitors on the stretch. With a
good run
could well be in the money though, and a slim chance at the
gold, but I
won't bet on it.
#8 From Vermont: Les Monts Verts (Nureyev x Seattle Slew x
Sassafras(FR))
Trainer is fatattack 17/1
With added distance, Les Monts Verts really has found a new gear
when she
was stretched for the first time to race the full mile. If there
is more gas
in the tank, Les Monts Verts could be a very real threat to the
favorites.
The odds on this Nureyev-filly are very appealing to me.
#9 From The Terrapin Jockey Club: Whispering Pine (Pine Bluff x
Habitat x
Icecapade) Trainer is sanchez 28/1
Another filly that hasn't broken her maiden yet, in her single
start so far.
Did well over 5,5 furlong, but there is no telling how she'll
deal with this
distance and this competition. Way out of her league a this
point in her
career.
#10 From NWRC: Silver Broad (Silver Ghost x Broad Brush x
Dixieland Band)
Trainer is cortan 7/1
Silver Broad is one of the fillies in this race with some real
experience of
tough competition, and knows the feeling of winning against it.
The record
of 9-4-4-0 is impressive and shows that cortan knows where to
enter his
young star. Silver Broad's best performance so far came over 7
furlongs, but
has shown recently that she can handle the mile just fine too.
#11 From Ireland: John and Dan (Event of the Year x Twining x
Saratoga Six)
Trainer is dancards 19/1
Last race out was over 9 furlong, and a minor setback compared
to the first
two very promising starts. With a return to a straight mile (and
prayers for
a rainy track?) John and Dan should be set for a peak
performance. Question
is if that's enough in this tough competition.
#12 From Missouri: Razmataz (Always a Rainbow x Razeen x Bold
Dash) Trainer
is luca 13/1
If recent performance says anything, Razmataz could be up for
something big.
The trainer luca must be excited about the second place in north
Florida in
a race with blistering speed and the SP 99. Only problem? The
filly that won
that race, Art in a Maze, is here to haunt Razmataz again.
#13 From New South Wales: Salubrious (Storm Cat x Forty Niner x
Gone West)
Trainer is manager 8/1
With a pedigree like this, I bet manager is happy that he got a
filly that
can run. Salubrious has except for a couple of attempts on grass
been
reliable on speed figures at ~90. I don't think that will be
quite enough in
this race, but Salubrious will want a share of the prize money,
and will
probably get it.
#14 From Nexis: Touch Me (A.P.Indy x Danzig x Nasty and Bold)
Trainer is
bighoss 7/1
Just two starts so far for bighoss' young star Touch Me, but so
far, the
results have been impressive to say the least - a MSW win at SP
86 followed
by a stakes victory in California at the strong SP 95, both
races at the
mile, so we know that this distance fits Touch Me. A wild card
that could
cause an upset.
#15 From Team Independent Unity: Art in a Maze (Seattle Slew x
Northern
Dancer x Mr. Prospector) Trainer is simshady 3/1
Art in a Maze is the big favorite, no question about it. She has
developed
for every race, and has in her last three races really shown her
capacity
with three straight stakes victories, including one in Vermont
(showing that
she likes the Equinics tracks) and the most recent in north
Florida, a
jaw-dropping SP 104 victory. Nobody in this field has anything
to show that
compares to that. And do I need to add that the pedigree is
almost as
stunning as the results on the race track?
#16 From DelPenn: Summer Belle (Silver Charm x Seattle Slew x
Palace Music)
Trainer is miraloma 7/1
The field is rounded up by Summer Belle, DelPenn's filly trained
by
miraloma. Has produced solid performances in her nine starts,
but hasn't won
since she broke her maiden in her second time out, a MSW in
Delaware. Still,
in the money 6 times out of 9 shows a certain reliability.
Analysis: The only reason I can think of that Art in a Maze
won't win is
that she's not the only one in the field that likes to take the
lead - Touch
Me and Silver Broad might drive up the pace more than she likes,
setting it
up for Razmataz, Ms Slew or Les Monts Verts. Still, I wonder if
that's
enough.
Win: #15 Art in a Maze 3/1
Place: #4 Ms Slew 7/1
Show: #12 Razmataz 13/1
Bet: $100 over the board on #15 Art in a Maze, $50 on #12
Razmataz to show
(the odds of 13/1 are just too tempting) and $20 on a set of
exactas:
15-4/8/10/12/14, hoping that Art in a Maze can cope with the
favoriteship...
Total bet: $450
Good luck to all entries and congratulations - just
participating in the
Equinics is an achievement of sorts that deserves
acknowledgement. :-)
